


the version of determination with a gun where i didnt know what i was doing

by GhostApocalyptic



Series: Ghost's Really Long And Terrible UT Fanfics [4]
Category: Archive- Do Not Search
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 19:38:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15177869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostApocalyptic/pseuds/GhostApocalyptic
Summary: jesus christ i dont even know how government works





	1. Chapter 1

You sighed, looking over the documents with tired eyes. You didn’t get very much sleep last night since you were assigned to investigate the events of Mt. Ebbott. You’d been given several documents to look over before you started the job, and they were keeping you up.

The main reason for this investigation- you knew was to assess the threat of monsters to humans. Several people- children and adults, had disappeared in the area where the Underground was, and it was suspected that it had something to do with the monsters. That’s why it was an FBI affair.  _ Technically,  _ all monsters were US citizens, despite being nonhuman and laws being changed a few weeks after blah blah  _ blah-  _ yeah. It was difficult explaining even for lawmakers and people directly involved in this mess. It was considered a missing persons case, and the former residents of the Underground were the suspects.

You really wished that the whole Mt. Ebbott affair wasn’t so goddamn  _ weird.  _ You felt like you were in the X-Files with all this talk of monsters. At least you were familiar with parts of it, you grew up in this area and it was quite refreshing to be back home after all these years.

There were other reasons for the investigation, too- but it’s hard to think of a kid like Ambassador Frisk as a threat to national security.

You heard a knock on your office’s door, you looked up to see a small hand wave from behind the glass. “Come in,” you said, putting your files down.

The door opened with a loud clanging from the handle mechanism (you were sure that this building was older than you were) and it creaked as a child walked in.

They were very small, and wore a sweater that looked a bit big for them. Around their neck was a lanyard with an ID in it, which seemed to be affixed with more buttons and pins than it could hold. 

This must have been ambassador Frisk.

Following the human child was a skeleton. He was somewhat short and wore a grease-stained polo under a large blue jacket. “Hey,” he said. 

You looked to Frisk, who smiled and signed something.

“He’s my translator,” the skeleton interpreted. “I’m mute.”

You looked to him. “Oh,” you said, nodding. “I’m your agent, nice to meet you two.” You shook Frisk’s hand, then turned to the skeleton. “You are…?”

“Sans,” he said, shaking your hand. A loud farting noise fills the room and you freeze up reflexively. He laughs, then puts his hand in his jacket pocket. “Whoopee cushion in the hand. Never gets old, does it?” 

Frisk gave him a look. They’d obviously heard (seen?) the prank before. 

You feel like this is going to be a long day.

 

Later, you accompany Frisk and Sans on a trip to a local mall. It’s quite empty there on weekdays, even in October, mostly because there’s only around ten stores still open in the building. You wonder how long it’s been here, it looks vaguely like it was designed in the 90’s with it’s overuse of neon and garish carpeting. A few monsters, possibly teenagers, hang out around an arcade area. You remember going here once or twice in your childhood, to take pictures and buy obscure comic books. 

“So, is this where you normally go to shop?” you ask. 

“Yeah,” Sans replies. “We go here because it’s quiet. Kid gets kind of overwhelmed by noise.”

Frisk tugs at his sleeve and signs. “Knows a lot of people here, too. Likes familiar places and faces.”

The proximity to Mt. Ebbott was probably also a factor. There were plenty of abandoned or near-empty buildings in this part of town.

“Hey, Frisk, isn’t that Snowdrake? Why don’t you go say hi to him?” Sans said, pointing out an ice monster over by an empty fountain. Frisk looked at Sans for a moment, their eyes uncertain, and smiled, nodding. They walked up on ahead.

Before you can follow them, Sans stops you. You don’t know how, maybe magic, since you suddenly find yourself heavier and unable to move forward. “Buddy. I want to establish something before you go any further.”

You turn around to face him. Is he…  _ threatening you? _

“Whatever guys put you up to this, I want you to tell them. Don’t. There’s some things you don’t need to know _. _ ” 

“Like what?” you ask, nervousness making your voice a bit higher than you want it to.

His eyes go empty as he looks at you. “Humans are capable of a lot of things. If you knew what you could do...” He goes silent. “Never mind.” The weight of the magic is lifted, and Sans directs his attention back to the kid. Frisk runs back to you two, smiling. 

“He have any good ones?” Sans asked the child. He acted like nothing had happened.

Frisk made a few overexaggerated gestures in reply. 

“Oh my god. Why  _ did  _ he?”

Frisk snorted, and signed the rest. 

Sans chuckled. “Oh man. That never gets old. I taught that guy well.”

  
  


Later on you’ve gone back to your apartment. You swear that your job is going to get so much more difficult now that you know something weird’s going on.

On an unrelated note, you realize you might need help on this.

You decide to look further into your documents for now. Something better show up.

* * *

 

On September 15, 20 XX , there were reports of power outages and brownouts in the areas surrounding Mt. Ebbott. Civilians residing in these areas also reported feeling senses of deja vu, vertigo, and in  bb cases, dissociation. It is unknown whether or not these correlate with the barrier’s breach, which was approximately two days later. 

  
  


Event Description: For a period of 2 hours, a grey door appeared in the middle of  XXXX Street, blocking traffic through the area. When investigated, any personnel who opened the door refused to go in, describing the interior as “pitch black, with a warped figure standing further in.” One account describes two individuals, the second later identified to be  CCCCC “Frisk”  CCCCC . Photographic evidence shows no door.

Date: September 16, 20 XX

Location: Mt Ebbott,  XX

  
  


Event Description: For a period of 15 minutes, several strangely-shaped lights were seen in the sky just above Mt. Ebbott. These lights were bright enough to give the illusion of daylight in the area. (see photographic record) It is unknown if this is monster magic or an external force.

Date: September 17, 20 XX

Location: Mt. Ebbott,  xx

* * *

 

You’ve heard about the grey door, but you thought that was just a rumor. To see it in official government stuff makes it feel so much more weird and unsettling.

And Frisk was there.

That made it worse. 

_ Humans are capable of a lot of things. If you knew what you could do…  _

Much worse. You took out a notebook, and made two columns. Likely, unlikely, and ???. Okay, three columns. You knew there would at least be one ‘out there’ theory.

Under likely: _ Muteness? , Monsters are bad _

Under unlikely:  _ Skeleton, EMP, and Magic.  _

You think for a second, and then draw an arrow to the “likely” column, just in case. 

Under ???:  _ Superpowers. _

Gotta cover every base.

You mean, it  _ is  _ kind of your job to know these things. The thing is, the investigation is both to gain information and settle some tension between the species. You knew it was a bit overbearing for an agent like you, but hey. Better than a desk job, even though the paperwork is twice as much.

There’s perks to it, though.

You take a look at the pictures associated with the third event. 

First is a photo of lights hovering above the treeline, Mt. Ebbott in the distance. They look like a lens flare, but the shapes are all wrong. They’re triangles, or… upside-down hearts? It’s a little too blurry to make out. They’re definitely moving, as some of them are streaks. There’s many of them.

Second is a photo of a large square of white light over Mt. Ebbott, lighting up the clouds above it. You can see more streaks of light similar to the first photo.

You put them down, and go back to your possibilities list.

Under likely: _ Muteness? , Monsters are bad.  _

New:  _ Monsters are aliens? _

Under unlikely:  _ Skeleton, EMP, and Magic.   _

You cross out magic and write it under “likely.”

Under ???:  _ Superpowers.   _

You keep thinking about superpowers.

It’s going to be a long night.


	2. 2

You wake up to find you’ve been sleeping in a very uncomfortable position over your desk. Your back aches and cracks as you sit up, and check the time. 5:34 AM. You curse your internal clock for waking you up so early, and get ready for the day.

 

You ruminate over your dreams. Well, your most prominent dream. You dreamt that you were there at Mt. Ebbott when the barrier broke, and cacti started growing out of the ground. People were screaming, and the whole world was ending. You were seemingly unphased by it all, but then…

Actually, you weren’t unphased, you just refused to accept it. You were determined and ready to perservere. You ran towards the commotion, a sword in your hand. Then, there was a door, and everything was back to normal. You don’t know how that correlates, but it does. That’s when you woke up. Dreams were boring filler to you, but maybe to someone else they were interesting.

 

You’re eating breakfast- a sandwich made of Nutella, bananas, and waffles, when you get this weird feeling in your gut. Not the eating feeling. You just kind of feel an emotion that’s really… tragic. You pass it off as seasonal depression starting to kick in, but…

Something feels off.

 

You’re beginning to think this job is more or less a joke. Frisk makes it impossible to think of them as anything other than a friend- and they always bring you into things despite your best efforts.

Frisk’s house is a small family home out in the suburbs. It’s nicely tended and has a large oak tree growing in the yard, and the makeup of the house says it was built only around a decade ago. The surrounding area is mostly houses, but you can see the backyard gives way to a dense forest. 

Frisk enters the house and texts someone while kicking off their shoes. They look up from the phone, and point to their feet. 

“You want me to take off my shoes, too?” You ask. They nod. 

“Oh, you must be the investigator!” you hear a woman’s voice say. You look up.

Toriel, like you’ve seen in pictures and TV, is a very tall monster resembling a goat of some sort. You didn’t expect her to be  _ that  _ tall, however, compared to you. You’re pretty tall yourself, you think, and she’s a good foot and a half bigger than you. She’s wearing a blue dress, and glasses that are affixed on her snout. Two small horns sprout of her head.

You nod, pulling off your other shoe. “Nice to meet you.” You hold out your hand. She shakes it, smiling. 

“I’m Toriel, Frisk’s mother- and former queen to Dreemurr.” She regards the last part with a hint of… regret? Disgust? You really can’t tell. “Excuse me. You are here for something, right?”

You nearly forgot. “I was hoping to ask a few questions about the Underground- just a formality, human governments are notoriously bureaucratic.” Nice joke. She chuckles at this, but you realize too late-

“Well, if it’s about the Underground, then it must be  _ burrow _ cratic.” You walked right into that one. You can hear a snort from Frisk. At least  _ they  _ thought it was funny.

Toriel offers you food and other welcoming things-  _ she was so nice???  _ \- but you have to decline for a lot of reasons. Mostly because you have to stay professional. You think for a moment that monsters may not know the same kinds of customs that humans have, especially after being sealed underground for who knows how long.

Toriel sits you down on the living room couch and you pull out a notepad for anything you need to find important. The couch is surprisingly soft and big, quite bigger than a human would need, and you find yourself sinking into it. 

“So, ask away.”

“Well, I’ll be honest here, this is mostly about a few missing children,” you say, clicking your pen.

The whole room feels a lot more heavy.

“Missing children?” she asks. If you knew anything from experience, it’s that when people say the subject of the matter in a questioning diction- it means they had something to do with it. You’re tempted to write this down, but that might put her in more distress.

“Missing children,” you reply. “Seven of them, starting in the year 201X.” The name of the year is a linguistic feat in itself, but it was the result of some scientists and a whole lot of nonsense with horology you don’t need to recap. Needless to say, it was a confusing year for everyone.

Frisk looks at Toriel, signing something. It’s a few gestures and hand waves you’re not entirely sure about. 

“Are you sure?” Toriel asks them. They nod back at her. “I suppose it’s not a good thing to keep secrets.”

You tense up as she looks right at you.

“Frisk was not the first to fall into the Underground.”

_ Oh. _

“We were still full of hatred for humanity when they came down her- there.” She corrects herself. She must have lived in the Underground for far too long, you think. “We resented the fact that we were trapped there, and… we took their souls. It was not a good matter. There were many- I among them, that did not want that. We thought that for once, humans and monsters could live in peace…” She begins to look a little misty-eyed. “I am sorry.” 

You jot down-  _ Missing children- killed.  _ Below it:  _ Monster govt- responsible? _

“So do you know who exactly killed them?”

“No, no. It may have been separate people, maybe one single one… you should talk to Dreemurr about this.”

_ Asgore Dreemurr?  _

Frisk says something. 

“He should learn the consequences,” she tells them. Frisk sighs back, crossing their arms. “Do not sass me, child.”


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you see ivan, when you recycle old plot you become the strong

Today was slow. You did some interviews with some monsters and they all gave the same kind of vague reply to each question you had. Those that  _ did  _ say things weren’t very helpful. So much for that.

It’s only when you’re taking the bus home in the dead of night does something strange happen. The stop nearest to your apartment is a couple blocks away, so you have to make the rest of the trip on foot. You’d buy a car especially for this reason if you didn’t live in a part of town where it’s impossible to find parking. The street lights are a buzzing yellow and it dulls your senses. You’re determined to get home as soon as possible.

You find your hands getting sweaty. Something moves out of the corner of your eye and next thing you know there’s a pain in your back and chest- you’re on the ground now and you see the lower portion of someone. You can’t tell if it’s a monster or human but the loudness accompanying the pain gives you the impression that someone shot you. You hear two voices but

The street lights are a dull buzzing yellow and it makes your head hurt. You’re determined to get home as soon as possible. 

You hear someone running, but when you look back, nobody is there. You find your hands getting sweaty, and everything is all-too-familiar.

 

When you get home, you make yourself dinner- or breakfast. You tended to have the same thing a lot- eggs were easy to make. Just mix them up and add a bit of pepper, fry it in a pan, serve with a glass of whatever beverage appropriate for the hour. Tonight, it’s alcohol you can’t pronounce the name of- some sort of wine. You’re not one for drinking, but you know. Someone gave it as a birthday gift and you’re all for treating yourself.

You wonder, with your salary, you could be living way better. You wonder why you don’t advance and take chances, you mean, what’s holding you back? You turn on your work laptop, and begin writing what you have so far.

But it’s nothing, you don’t even have a good theory yet- no traction at all. Zilch. Nothing. Nada. Every base has already been covered by the guys before you. You take a bite of your eggs, and watch the little line that indicates your place in the document blink for a few minutes. 

You feel like you should be watching TV instead. Paperwork can come when you know what’s going on.

The only good shows that come on this late at night are either on the MTT channel or the Discovery Network. The rest tends to be garbage movies or garbage adult cartoons. You switch to MTT. Ever since the monsters came up from the underground, you’ve enjoyed Mettaton EX’s performances and game shows, especially his enthusiasm for 24-hour entertainment. It must be a big advantage being a robot, he doesn’t have to sleep or take many breaks unless he wants to. 

Tonight there’s a rerun of the last episode aired in the Underground. 

_ “Now, today, we have two very special guests! Say hello to the brilliant Dr. Alphys and…”  _ The camera pans to a human child. You almost choke on your drink. It’s Frisk. “ _... This human!”  _ They look a bit tired and disheveled, and they’re wearing a tutu. Why a tutu? You don’t know, either.

Alphys:  _ Oh no. _

Mettaton then breaks down a wall. 

Mettaton:  _ Oh yes!!! Welcome, beauties… _

The light is on Mettaton, who’s more rectangular than he is now. That must be his old model. He looks kinda like a calculator- it’s quite humorous to see him like that.

Mettaton: ... _ To today’s quiz show! _

Confetti and rainbow lights fill the room.

Mettaton:  _ Oh boy! I can already tell it’s going to be a great show!  _

Mettaton:  _ Everyone give a big hand to our wonderful contestant! _

 

There’s a series of clapping sounds, like someone took a sound effect and played it over and over again. Frisk looks into the camera with an exasperated expression, like this has happened before.

You continue watching the game show. It seems like some sort of quiz thing, but you see Dr. Alphys giving Frisk answers in the background. The questions are all seemingly impossible, such as that one about the train, but Frisk answers most of the questions before Mettaton can finish them. Either they’re smarter than you expected, knew the answers beforehand, or were bad at acting. Maybe a combination of either of the three.   
  


Mettaton:  _ Would you smooch a ghost? _

Frisk slams their hands on the podium, and yells, “ _ HECK YES.”  _ This is the first time you’ve heard them speak, it’s crackly and sounds like they have a cold. Maybe it’s the microphone. It’s silent for a few seconds.

Mettaton:  _ Great answer! I love it!!!! _

 

You continue watching the show. It’s full of silly antics- and you fear for Frisk’s life once or twice as Mettaton “antagonizes” them. It’s clearly an act, but you know. It’s a convincing act.

There’s a commercial break, and you take this time to put your dishes in the sink. There’s some advertisements for various monster brands and events- Nice Cream, MTT brand  _ anything ( _ hair products, fast food; guns, even), a concert for… dogs, apparently, and topped off by an extremely long commercial for some sort of medication with a hundred side effects. 

_ “Now back to the show!” _

You sit down on your couch- well, more like lie down on it, it’s uncomfortable but you’re tired and a bit buzzed. 

 

Mettaton:  _ Oh yes, there you are, darling. _

They seem to be in some sort of factory- no, power plant? It’s hard to tell. Frisk is wearing a cowboy hat and looks determined.

Frisk signs something with one hand, and there’s subtitles.  _ There’s a mirror behind you. _

Mettaton:  _ What? Well, I always have to look good for- _

On Mettaton’s back is a comically large switch, labeled “switch.” Clever. Frisk went up to him and flipped it with a big smile on their face. Wait. Is that a gun in their hand? You didn’t notice it before, but it sure looks it.

Mettaton:  _ Did you. Just flip. My switch. _

His screen blinks rapidly, and suddenly, there’s a light show with fog machines. A slow series of guitar riffs play. 

“ _ Ohhh my. If you flipped my switch, that can only mean one thing…”  _ The camera pans to many shots of Mettaton EX’s silhouette. “ _ You’re desperate for the premiere of my new body! Lucky for you, I’ve been aching to show this off for a long time…”  _

Mettaton and Frisk then have what can only be described as a “dance fight.” You laugh, this is so cheesy, but at the same time, so sincere. You’re amused and feel like both of them should win… but...

You feel like that’s enough TV for now. You set the DVR to record the rest of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> around this point i realized it'd be way easier if the agent wasnt actually from the fbi but i was too stubborn to change it  
> also at this point i realized the agent really was confusing and boring when i tried to humanize them


	4. 4: sorry for not having arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the only reason im posting this chapter is because of that joke

You’re all for interviews. And by “all for” you mean you don’t really actually enjoy them. You get to interrogate each and every monster- and boy howdy are there a lot of monsters. 

Next on the list is a ghost named Napstablook- a DJ. They’re Mettaton’s cousin, from what Frisk has told you, and they’re sort of socially awkward. 

You knock on the door to the ghost’s apartment. 

“oh no…” you hear a soft, unsure voice from behind the door. “(maybe if im quiet theyll leave…)”

You’re patient with whoever’s behind the door for about five minutes. You knock again, but not aggressively. “FBI,” you state.

The door slightly opens. “oh…” they say. The monster behind the door is what looks like a cartoon sheet ghost, with big eyes. They wear a pair of black headphones over where you suppose their ears would be. “sorry… i didn’t know…”

“It’s fine,” you say. “You must be Napstablook?” You consider shaking their hand, but you don't think they have any arms or hands.

“yeah. come in.” You notice the way they speak feels like it should be in all lower case. “can i get you some food? music?” They hover over to a part of the apartment you assume to be the kitchen. It’s covered in electronics and vaguely translucent versions of food objects. “oh… right, i only have ghost food.” 

You give Napstablook a patient smile. “It’s fine, no need.” You pull out your notepad, clicking your pen. “Now, uh, I’ve heard you know Frisk? I have a few questions about them,” you begin.

The ghost smiles. “go ahead” they say, not using a period. You keep wondering how you notice that kind of thing. Are you in some sort of video game or void full of text?

You click your pen. “How did you meet them?” 

They sit on the counter. “i was in the ruins. i usually go there to be alone, but that day, frisk fell into the underground. they were so nice to me.”

“How?”

“they just were. later on i talked to them again in waterfall, i thought i was interrupting something but turns out my cousin was just being angry towards them.”

You jot down what they said. “Your cousin?” you ask.

“madstablook. but we all call him mad dummy because he possessed undynes training dummy.” That sure sounded like a mouthful.

“Alright.”  _ Madstablook? Mettaton? Who names these monsters?  _ “Alright, so you said that you saw Frisk in Waterfall? I read that it’s nice there.”

“yeah. its quiet. i used to live on a snail farm with most of my family there.” Napstablook turns some dials on the music equipment strewn about.

_ Snail farm. _

They look up. “oh. i must be boring you, huh? this is about frisk. sorry. i saw them there, a little while before i talked to them i saw them near one of those weird grey doors”

_ Grey doors in waterfall.  _ “Grey doors?”

“yeah. there’s these doors all around waterfall, nobody’s really acknowledged them. i cant open them so i dont really do anything about it. frisk sees them too, i guess”

_ Cant be opened? By monsters or in general? only certain people see them- Napstablook, Frisk.  _ “Napstablook, I’d like to thank you for your time,” you state, standing up. “If I have any further questions, I’ll be sure to give you a call.” Idiot. Why are you leaving? You can ask them now! What is wrong with you? You put your notepad under your arm. “I’d, uh, shake your hand, but…”

“sorry for not having arms”

“I’ll just pretend we did, alright?” You smile. “Now, I see you’re probably busy, so…”

“it’s been nice talking to you.” 

You leave awkwardly, not really sure how to. 


	5. 5: why do i keep doing the phonecall thing

Work is normal, for the next week or two. Nothing really weird happens, just you making sure the kid isn’t hurt by anyone, and you suppose you’re like an overpaid babysitter with a gun. Sans isn’t always there. During these times, Frisk usually keeps a notebook on hand.

Today’s one of those days. 

You’re at a park today. Frisk usually likes to go to quiet places while they can. You asked them if they went to school, but later found out they were homeschooled by Toriel, their adopted mother. Frisk told you once they liked to be alone a lot.

You both at a picnic table, Frisk doing homework out of a math book they carried with them. It’s overcast today, and you brought an umbrella just in case it rained. It doesn’t snow around here, really, it just gets super cold, and you’re thankful for that.

You’re lost in thought for a little bit before Frisk taps you on your arm. You turn your head, looking at what they wrote in their notebook.

_ What do you think of monsters? _

It’s an odd question. “They’re okay, I guess,” You reply. “Kind of weird.”

Frisk laughs, and starts writing.  _ They have their charms. _ They then get ready to write something else, but seem sort of contemplative. They chew on their eraser for a few seconds, and then write,  _ Can I tell you a secret? _

You shrug. “Lay it on me.”

_ My friends are afraid of me. _

That’s not what you expected, but okay.

They write some more.  _ I think they remember something I  _ _ did didn’t do _ _ could’ve done. _

“What do you mean by that?” You ask. You think for a moment on why they crossed out “did” and “didn’t do.” 

You think of what Sans said the first day you met him.  _ If you knew what you could do…  _

Frisk writes,  _ Humans are weird. I learned we’re capable of some really scary stuff.  _ _ Monsters are far more af _ _ Promise you won’t laugh when I say this?  _ They look at you with unsureness. 

You shift in your seat. “Promise.”

They seem very determined to tell you this, as they write very hastily and cross out a few things. They turn the notebook around. There are a few scribbled out sentences above what they say.

_ You’re about to get a phone call. _

Your phone rings, default tone. You don’t recognize the number, but it’s your work phone, so you  _ have  _ to answer it. 

“Hello?” you say.

“Hey, this is Jacob from IT.” You don’t know who that is. “There may be… a small problem.”

Frisk hastily writes something down.  _ Wrong number. _

“Do you have a copy of the software manual for the- wait. This is the wrong number! Sorry!” Click.

You put your phone down. “Did that skeleton plan this?”

Frisk shook their head.  _ If he did, it’d have a punchline.  _ They smile, writing.  _ That helped me a lot, though.  _ Frisk laughed.

What a weird kid.


	6. oh something finally fucking happens

A few days after Christmas, it gets colder, cold enough to snow. Frisk invited you to a gathering for a monster holiday called Gyftmas, which essentially was Christmas II, the Christmasing. The event was held at a local park near Mt. Ebbott. 

The monsters are an oddball bunch, but there’s a lot of them. Frisk says it’s not everyone, or else there’d be an even bigger crowd. You spot some familiar faces but can’t put a name to some of them. You remember them only because you’d interviewed them earlier that month.

You’re talking with Toriel when you notice something about Sans, who’s watching Papyrus and Frisk figure out a Rubiks cube. He looks pretty out there, even more so than usual. His eyes, they’re usually just two little glowing dots in his sockets, are empty and void of light. It makes your gut sink, something’s up.

“Oh, is there something wrong?” Toriel asks, stopping her story about a student of hers.

Something  _ is  _ wrong, but you can’t put your finger on it. You watch as Sans walks towards Frisk, his expression locked, and you can see something- multiple things out of your peripheral, and there’s a slight snap as everything goes dark-

You’re talking with Toriel when you notice something about Sans. He looks pretty out there, even moreso than usual. You feel like something like this has happened before and your smile fades from your face, you start feeling a bit anxious. You look over to Frisk, who’s looking at Sans with a worried expression.

“Oh, is there something wrong?” Toriel asks. The brief glimpse you get of her face before you direct your attention to Sans tells you she’s concerned.

You get up and run towards Sans. “Sans!” You shout, grabbing his attention. You trudge across the light snow and finally catch up to him.  “Hey, Sans!”

He looks back to you. “What?” It’s not so much as a question as a response.

You think of a pun. “I just thought of a pun and… I HAVE to tell you it.” Crisis averted? Was there a crisis?

The skeleton’s expression lightens. “Okay, what is it?”

“How do you raise the dead?” Silence. “You pick them up,” you say, laughing anxiously. 

He puts a hand in his jacket pocket. The skeleton looks like he would’ve had a reaction, but he’s cold. You guess  _ he is  _ cold, he’s a skeleton- never mind. He looks back at Frisk and the taller skeleton, who’d solved the cube and was making a loud commotion of it all.

You know something just happened. You can’t help but feel like you just averted something you knew  _ just happened  _ and you’re so-

“You… you saw, right?” He pauses.

You feel your stomach turn in knots, and you’re quite dizzy all of the sudden. “Y-Yeah,” you reply. You look back at Frisk, who’s giving you a thumbs up, smiling weakly. “I did.”

“Sorry for the trouble.” He looks up at you. You forget that he’s so much shorter than most people, only a foot  taller than Frisk. “And, uh, thanks.” He goes to talk to Toriel.

 

You’re still shaken up about what happened with Sans, even after you’ve gone back to your hotel. You don’t know what could’ve happened, yet the memory is so  _ clear-  _ He could’ve killed them. He was advancing, ready to cast something, electric blue magic and it was so  _ bright and loud.  _ But it didn’t happen. You know it didn’t happen. You stopped him. From  _ what?  _ Your head hurts.

You lie down on top of your bed, not even bothering to change your clothes or get under the covers. It’s refreshing to lay down like this, sometimes, even though it wears on blankets. But you can’t find yourself sleeping.

You take off your coat and find your notebook.

You write down in the “Likely” category of your theories:  _ time travel. _

You don’t know why, but it seems like you just figured out the obvious.

 

You dream that night of something.

You’re somewhere dark and dusty. It’s hard to breathe, and you continue on through this hallway with determination and a sense of justice. Dreams were weird like that, they made you feel things against your control. But your determination stood strong. You heard someone say something, and turned your head to see Sans- no, it’s not Sans. Looks like Sans, but not him. Has prominent cracks along his skull. “There’s a lot of things we tried,” he said, walking past you. Oh, you were walking together? “As seen in our results.” He’s motioning with skeletal hands as he talks.

He doesn’t sound like Sans, either, his voice is distinctly  _ weird.  _ You realize you’re not moving yourself, you’re on a track- what’s going on? “It’s exactly  _ why  _ we need these souls, sir.” It’s stilted, sounds strained-  _ backwards.  _ Flowers start blooming out of the ground, and you walk through a door- more of a portal, to a field. Stars shine overhead. 

Things start getting hazy and weird after that. Someone injects themselves with something and turns into a demon, a dog with six sets of eyes eats your hands, and you keep returning to the same spot after running away from it.

You get glimpses of something terrible, something  _ undeniably  _ human, but…

Th- You wake up.

The time is 4 AM.

You go back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> toby fox i apologize for 17 year old me not understanding that angst is really boring


	7. 7: hey fuck all this shit about gaster already

Frisk gives you a call, then texts you.

_ I need to show you something. When are you free? _

You reply:  _ What for? _

Frisk:  _ It’s too much to explain in words. Youll have Fun. noon at mall? _

_ Sure.  _

You step off the bus to see Frisk waiting on a bench, kicking their legs in the air anxiously. The catch sight of you, and wave. They text:  _ Follow me.  _ They motion you to follow.

They lead you around the back of the mall building. It’s covered in cracks and kudzu, and you can barely make out the original color of the walls: a light tan white. Frisk looks back at you anxiously every few minutes.

They stop in front of a door that pokes out of the vegetation. They text:  _ Do you see it too? _

You nod, warily. Everything feels so strange to you, and it makes you nervous.

Frisk sighs in relief. Opens the door. Inside is void, no floor, no walls. They take your hand. You hesitate as they step inside, their body phasing through this black wall, and soon you’re passing through it as well. Feels weird. It’s like falling into water but not wet and it just feels  _ different  _ inside.

It’s dark.

So dark.

“ _ You can open your eyes now,”  _ you hear a voice say. It’s like Frisk’s, but so much clearer and less scarred. Almost like a thought. Almost is a thought.

You blink.

You see someone. They’re blurry and a dark shape at first- but he comes into focus sooner than you can realize he’s super familiar to you.

_ HELLO AGENT FANDANGO _

A skeleton, a little shorter than you, no, a little taller, you can’t tell, stands before you. He looks similar to Sans and his brother, not because he’s a skeleton but by the general shape of his cheekbones and nose and oh gosh you wish you didnt take a forensics course in college you are geeking out. He’s dressed in a grey turtleneck and a large, black labcoat that you swear is more like a layer of tar on top of him. He looks to be slightly melting, though that may just be your eyes playing tricks on you.

It’s very cold in here.

And  _ how does this monster know your name _ ?  _ How  _ do you know  _ he’s speaking? _

You look to Frisk, who’s smiling at you. “ _ I wanted to introduce you- well, this is Dr. Wing Dings Gaster,”  _ they say.

_ IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU.  _

He holds out a hand. The bones have a circular hole in them, but they float normally nonetheless. You shake it, hesitantly. You know, skeletons have a strange way of conveying emotion without faces. His shoulders raise a little and he lets go of your hand.

The doctor then looks to Frisk.

_ FRISK BEFORE WE CONTINUE WHERE WAS THE DOOR _

The skeleton is, in fact, signing as he “speaks.” After finishing his sentence, he hugs his forearms with what you can tell is anxiety. He’s quite expressive for someone without flesh or skin or a face. 

“ _ The surface. That’s mall why a they’re in here its- That’s why they’re here. The door was in a mall.” _ You note that Frisk, even with a clearer way of speaking, can’t seem to form words correctly. Is that how they think? This is weird, you’ve never… well. You didn’t know this was a thing until now, and reading thoughts is kind of strange. 

Gaster looks to you.

_ AGENT. ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH TIME TRAVEL? _

Is that why you’re here? You’re not used to being the interrogatee, and it’s quite strange. “Only in the fiction sense,” you say. Your voice feels different, it’s not based in your throat like usual, but in your lungs. It’s weird.

He shakes his head.  _ WE HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE…  _ He stops, and puts his hand to his chin. His eyes glow for a moment. It’s not the usual skeleton glow like from Sans, but more of a static-y glow, like from a TV. Again, you’re using antiquated terms. You don’t think people under 20  know what you’re describing. Gosh, technology becomes obsolete fast. Anyways. He looks up, the glow serving as an indication of his pupils if he had any.  _ WE HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO TRAVEL THROUGH TIME, LIKE FRISK. HOWEVER, YOU SEEM TO BE UNAWARE OF IT. _

“Well, can you give me an example?” You know you know what he means. You’ve suspected this about Frisk since December. It was something in the metaphorical margins, though. But hat kind of self-respecting FBI agent would try to suggest such a thing to the Bureau? You’d be a laughingstock. _ And you?  _ That’s something you’re unsure of. You don’t think you’ve...

Frisk and Gaster sign at each other for a little bit. They seem to be… arguing? It’s kind of hard to tell for the doctor, but Frisk looks annoyed. 

You don’t feel right.

The void fades into a room. It’s familiar, but everything’s slate grey. It looks like nobody’s been here for a long time. You feel like you need to walk through here to recognize the features, so you do.

_ AGENT,  _ the skeleton interrupts.

You turn your head so fast you almost get whiplash. “Yes?” He’s not there. It’s just a wall. Your wall, the one in your apartment.

Wait.

What.

It seems either that everything was a dream, or you blacked out. Since when did you get home?

Your phone is on the table. It vibrates, and rings a text alert.

You pick it up. It’s from Frisk. 

_ I’m sorry. I didn’t know. _

That’s helpful. You text back:

_ Know what? _

You notice your clothes are covered in dust and mud. You feel grimy. This was a good shirt, too, and you hope that this stuff washes out.

Buzz, buzz.  _ G put you back. You started glitching. Don’t remember? _

You reply:  _ No?  _ Glitching? What???

A minute passes. Your stomach sinks.

_ I can’t explain accurately what happened. _

Another minute passes.

_ Does the name “Chara” ring a bell? _

  
  
  


* * *

 

DOSSIER

 

Sans Serif  Gaster

Monster (Skeleton)

Occupation: ???

Clearance: C

Relation to Ambassador “Frisk”  CCCCC is unknown. Displays an extreme amount of care for others, including his brother, Papyrus  Gaster . damn right

Despite his shortcomings and seemingly harmless appearance, subject exceeds expectations when in combat. Easily provoked for a good reason

Interpreter for Ambassador  CCCCC . 

Individual can and  _ will  _ change our files at will, no matter what precautions and firewalls are put up. Please refer to your physical and encrypted documents for further information. 

dont tell me what to do

 

Papyrus Roman  Gaster

Monster (Skeleton)

Occupation: ???

Clearance: C

Low threat. Do not engage regardless, it will provoke the individual’s brother. Any food offered by this individual is  ~~not fit for consumption~~ #1 in the world five stars

  
  


CCCCC “Frisk”  CCCCC

Human

Occupation: Human-Monster Ambassador

Clearance: B

Ambassador  CCCCC was the human directly responsible for the destruction of the barrier sealing the monsters under Mt. Ebbott. They went missing around September 14, 20XX, two days before the anomalous events occurring in the area. Lived at Haven Orphanage in  PlaceName XX , a town in the area of Mt. Ebbott, before this disappearance. 

Ambassador  CCCCC  is nonverbal due to inexplicable damage to their vocal chords. They are capable of speaking regardless, but it causes a great amount of pain to the individual. Medical documents preceding the incident of Mt. Ebbott do not have any record of this ailment. 

Adopted child of monster Toriel Dreemurr. 


End file.
